A Happy Warrior for Liberty: A Conversation with Chase Oliver

The following is a guest post by:

Timothy Tarkelly
tarkellyt@gmail.com

At the 2023 Libertarian Party of Kansas convention, I had an opportunity to sit with Chase Oliver. He is perhaps most well known for his historic upset in Georgia’s senate race last year. He took enough votes to trigger a run-off between the two-party aspirants, Warnock and Walker. Oliver came to the Libertarian party from the Left, trading in his hopeful progressivism for the realization that government is almost always the problem and very rarely the solution. 

Our conversation started with a survey of general tone throughout the Libertarian Party and politics in general. Virtually all of us agree that there is an unnecessary amount of tension and a dire need for a positive voice. 

“If you’re looking for positivity in a candidate,” Oliver said. “You’ve come to the right place. I describe myself as a happy warrior for Liberty.” He hopes to shape his campaign around an eager and hopeful confidence. “In 2024, the most important thing for a candidate is to highlight the positive aspects of liberty, not just the negative aspects of the state.”

According to Oliver, there are three ways to run a campaign. The first is policy: the wonky, unlistenable talking points that very few actually listen to. The second is fear. This is a strategy Oliver is content to avoid, citing it as the strategy of the two-party system. “It has a very quick half life,” Oliver said. “It burns out very quickly, and you also risk getting burned yourself.” The third way is to lean into positivity, hope, and inspiration. It was this third way that Oliver claimed was the most effective, as it allowed “Obama to steamroll Hillary Clinton in 2008…he ran in a way that resonated with voters, and that’s what we Libertarians need to do better at.”

A glaring question hangs over Chase Oliver’s presidential bid: how will his landmark senate campaign impact his public appeal? As Libertarians, we tend to define success a little differently, comparing meager percentages and touting single digit landmarks as victories over the establishment. Certainly, Oliver has gained national media attention. He’s published articles on his campaign in various respected outlets, and has become a household name among political aficionados. To the two-party hold-outs, he lost plain and simple and ruined their precious election in the process. It is a strange thing to have a public loss catapult you into consideration for the White House, and that very well may be the outcome. Thus is the paradoxical nature of third-party politics.

When asked how his past campaign would affect his future, he boldly claimed, “I absolutely think it’s an asset for me…I very quickly tried to utilize those media relationships, and I’m continuing to do that.” He seems to have expertly navigated that media storm that ensued during the run-off. He’s built a communications team that has kept those ties, and he is hopeful that he will continue to carry that spotlight into the presidential race.

A unique facet of the Oliver campaign is his focus on young voters. This is hardly a new approach to politics, but is surely a piece that has been missing from Libertarian messaging for some time. According to Oliver, Gen Z is a missing piece in the Libertarian landscape. He accurately points out that “for our party to survive well into the twenty-first century we need to speak to them because in ten years, they will be the largest voting block, and if we haven’t sown the seeds to grow Gen Z libertarians and activists we will fall by the wayside.” How does one appeal to young voters without pandering to them? We do it by speaking to their issues, like the student loan crisis and the environment. After all, as Chase puts it, “it is not the government that is going to save us from [climate change], but actually human innovation, and that’s going to come through free markets.”

It is refreshing to hear a Libertarian talk about the environment and in general move beyond the typical anti-government fare of ending taxation and dismantling the Federal Reserve. While these are obviously important and forever on the table, they don’t necessarily ring as loudly in the ears of young voters. This matched with his appeal for responsibility and compassion among Libertarian activists, as well as his positive disposition and respectful manner, will surely endear him among the next wave of electoral participants. 

So far, I have been impressed with all three candidates I’ve been able to interview: Lars Mapstead, Mike ter Maat, and Chas Oliver. Regardless of how next year’s convention pans out, if this trend of intelligent and well-spoken hopefuls continues, I will be ready to cast my vote for whomever emerges as the chosen candidate.